Push 'em back, push 'em back, waaaaay back! I would imagine Mrs BR will get 8' minimum across in your warm area unless water is an issue maybe. She's supposed to get that big here. Mine is only 1 yr old. Maggie is supposed to be sizable (at least 5' to 6' across), too. Mine's only in the ground a couple months. Unfortunately, Linda, I see digging in your future. Sherry

Good morning! I too try to visualize people and it rarely, if ever, works out. it is nice to put faces to names. Shirley, still thinking of you and keeping you in my prayers. i know that's your daughter, brittney and dawson -- who are the others (inquiring nosey minds want to know) and as for your mom, you never know what the next roommate may be, perhaps you can hold off on the move until you see what comes in LOL, however, I think I'd want to be with my own and her secrets kept!!!! annie your dogs are beautiful, as are you. my aunt and uncle, for as long as i can remember, were the first home for service dogs until they were ready to go into training. they had several different dogs from what i recall. sorry about your lizzie...i know how hard it is to lose a beloved pet. my next dog is going to be a shepherd, but it's been decided that we will only have one dog at a time now, so I have to wait my turn. (we'll see) i made an anniversary cake for a group i belong to, it was our 7 year anniversary so i made this massive cake. i filled it with alternating layers of buttercream and lemon curd, and dang, if it was not tasty. I was able to take a slice home for the family to taste and seriously wish there had been more leftover, would have made a nice breakfast!!!! a real nice combination, even though it started out that i was going to use raspberry as well...i just couldn't get enough to cook them down to make a nice sauce/filling. it's still so cold and seems to be staying that way until at least next week, when it's supposed to go to the high 40's, with rain. by then, i'll think it's summer. this cold is bone chilling and of course, they are calling for more snow. we haven't got much of it, but.....this year it is bothering me like mad! i shouldn't complain, there are parts of the country that are in the negatives, so i'll just keep my mouth shut on this subject any further! so whose left to post their pic? come out. come out whereever you are! speaking of which, jeanne, how are those triplets of late? is mary ellen still a part of this group? i feel like i haven't seen her in a long time...maybe since she became a grandmom, or right before that? hae a nice thursday! maryanne

@sparkler: Thanks, you make a good point! So far the ceiling fixtures, pendants over sink and the sconces are all from the same line of lights so hopefully that translates into the same shade of white. One poster suggested changing the sconces to a different line for variety. If we do that we will avoid doing a sconce with a white shade to avoid the different white problem. We were planning to order them from LightingDirect.com, but if we don't like them together we can return them I assume. @ romy718 Thanks, that is a very good idea to work though. I do like those lights I posted for in front of the window and it does come in a bigger size. That sphere shape one is 3 times the price as the drum shaped one I posted in my opening post. The sphere shaped one is 14.5 inches and the drum shaped one is 19 inches in diameter. The sphere shaped one has one 150 watt bulb and the drum shaped one holds 3- 60 (180 total) watt bulbs. All, What is the best way to float in the pictures of these light fixtures into a picture of my kitchen? DH has done a Sketch-up picture of the kitchen. If we could figure out how to cut and paste pictures of the lights into this Sketch-up photo we would have a better idea of what the visual clutter would look like and if the 3D shapes looked good together. I would like to keep the two ceiling lights and sconces as they are the only source of ambient or up lighting. The rest of the lights (pots and pendants) are all down lights. As per the dining room chandy, I am thinking we will start off using our old dining room chandy and change it out later when we have extra funds. Below you will see a picture of our dining room before the house rebuild. New DR will be much more spacious. You can see the old DR chandy I was hoping to reuse for now. Is it a disaster to re-use with the other light fixtures I have chosen for the kitchen that is nearby? Carol This post was edited by OntarioMom on Mon, Jul 14, 14 at 19:03

Hi, maggiebkit, I don't comment on too many layouts, but you are planning essentially the same layout that I have, so I feel qualified to offer advice. I did a budget facelift/remodel, did not move plumbing, so kept the sink in the same spot in relation to stove and fridge. I'll throw you a curve, and suggest that you keep the fridge where it is--close to dining areas, and consider switching the sink and cooktop. You can split the window and put the stove between two smaller windows (if the exterior appearance is not adversely affected.) Advantages that I see are: You will prep between sink and cooktop, and have a view while working. You will have views from both windows while cooking. Cooktop is closer to oven, convenient for venting both, and preparing recipes which utilize both. Dishes and cleanup are closer to dining areas, and DW is no longer in entry path. Disadvantage is no window over sink, if that's not an exterior wall--maybe a deal breaker for you. As bmore suggests, I'd make the island shorter, so that anyone who comes from the entry and makes a beeline for the fridge (starving teenager), doesn't have to travel around the bottom and back. As for skipping a prep sink, I don't have one in the kitchen proper, but I have a small 'auxiliary' sink a couple of steps away, in another room. I love the flexibility of having a second sink as a drop zone for anything that needs to be soaked, or as a back-up sink if I'm using the large sink for canning, etc. If you can squeeze a second sink into the floor plan and the budget, I'd recommend it! Finally, if you keep the current layout, it's not too far to walk in a small kitchen--mine is ap 13.5x13.5, so very similar to yours. The fridge is four steps from the sink, and I don't find it too inconvenient. I would like to see your microwave closer to the fridge, but in the real world of small kitchens, sometimes we have to make adjustments. Good luck with your remodel! Here is a link that might be useful: google search - stove between windows